Marketing as Strategy, Part Two: Start With What You Know - Margaret Andrews, Inside Higher Ed stratEDgy

In the first installment of Marketing as Strategy (Part One), Margaret Andrews mentioned “it all starts with research – some internal, some external, some primary, some secondary, some qualitative, and some quantitative.” Research can be one of the great levelers, since different people throughout the institution have different knowledge and ideas about how the institution or school is perceived externally, based on who they interact with and how long they’ve been part of the organization. Having accurate data on market perceptions helps move the discussion from hearsay and opinion to fact. It helps you get to the heart of the problem, confirms (or disconfirms) assumptions, and separates “what we think” from “what we know.” It changes the discussion from “what the problem is” to what should be done about it.